Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko is taking part in the extended session of the Constitutional Commission on 28 September, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko had announced plans to meet with members of the Constitutional Commission at the session with top officials of the Council of Ministers a week ago. “I want to meet with the commission after they have finished internal discussions. Then I think we will set up a small specific group that will professionally polish the draft Constitution upon our instructions. This is why it is necessary to discuss the draft and how we are going to proceed in this regard later on,” he noted.
The president had given instructions to seriously prepare for the event and particularly focus on the transfer of presidential powers. “It is not like we don't know… We've attached some powers to some body (the Belarusian People's Congress and so on) and now we don't know how to proceed, we will go to the president. Listen. Feel free to come to me but only with proposals,” the Belarusian leader stated.
What is the Constitutional Commission?
In March this year Aleksandr Lukashenko signed a decree on the Constitutional Commission to implement the resolution of the Belarusian People's Congress. The commission was instructed to develop proposals on constitutional amendments and hold their nationwide discussion.
The Constitutional Commission consists of 36 people. These are representatives of government agencies, law, public associations, various sectors of the economy and the social sphere - honored and reputable people with an active civic position. The commission is headed by Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Honored Lawyer of Belarus Piotr Miklashevich. His deputies are Chair of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly Natalya Kochanova and Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly Vladimir Andreichenko.
After a series of meetings the commission developed and submitted proposals on constitutional amendments to the president.
A reminder, according to Piotr Miklashevich, the Constitutional Commission proposes to amend 53 articles of the Constitution, introduce 14 new articles and remove 2 articles.
